Sweet Potato Raisin Bread

This sweet potato raisin bread has a thick coarse crumb, is just slightly sweet and makes the perfect breakfast toast. It’s a hearty fall treat.

Last week in North Carolina, when we weren’t hiking, I pretty much lived in the same outfit all week long: Ulysses’ sweat pants from the police academy, a tank with an oversized hoodie, fuzzy socks and slippers.

I was the definition of frumpy.

To the point where my husband who has never made a comment in eight years about the fact that I pretty much live in either workout clothes or pajamas even said something jokingly.

It was a cabin in the middle of nowhere North Carolina, it was vacation, we were drinking hot chocolate and playing Monopoly every night, the outfit was justified in my mind.

Then, however, I went to Target this past weekend with the sole purpose of buying this ridiculously comfy cowl neck sweater thing and ended up walking out of the store with that, pajama pants and two pairs of sweat pants (because the ones I’ve had since freshman year of college and wear 24/7 every winter might just be on their last leg).

This time though, there’s no vacation log cabin in the middle of the woods and cozy nights with board games and hot chocolate to blame.

And it hit me:

I’m turning into a middle aged frumpy mom minus the kids.

As long as the lower stomach pouch isn’t next though, I’m cool with it.

Good things happen in sweat pants and oversized hoodies anyway.

Like this sweet potato raisin bread.

I’m kind of obsessed with this bread.

It’s got an awesome crumbly texture from the cornmeal and it’s super versatile; from eating it alongside your breakfast (so good toasted with some butter!) to sandwich bread or even just as a savory side to dinner.

It basically lives somewhere in between a savory sweet potato cornbread and a sweeter fall quick bread like this granola pear bread.

I even toasted and chopped up the end piece of the loaf to use as croutons in a salad the other day.

It’s perfect and cozy and totally deserves a pair of sweats while eating it.

Looking for more seasonal bread recipes to try?

For springtime, bake up this rhubarb bread or this roasted strawberry coconut yogurt bread. And in the winter, gingerbread banana bread with the sweet maple tahini glaze is cozy perfection.

Sweet Potato Raisin Bread

Author: Gina Matsoukas

This sweet potato raisin bread has a thick coarse crumb, is just slightly sweet and makes the perfect breakfast toast. It’s a hearty fall treat.

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

  

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• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 package 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
• 3/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup raisins

Instructions

 

• Combine milk, sugar and salt in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Add butter, turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
• Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl, stir gently and set aside for 5 minutes until yeast starts to bloom.
• Place the sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
• Pour the liquid from the sauce pot and the yeast mixture into the mixer and continue mixing.
• Add the flour, cornmeal and nutmeg to the mixer slowly and mix until incorporated.
• Add the raisins and mix until the dough pulls away from the edges and forms a ball.
• Turn dough out onto floured surface, knead a few times until glossy, form into a bowl and place in an oiled bowl.
• Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm spot to rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
• Punch down in the bowl, turn out onto a floured surface and roll the dough into a rectangle about 8×12 in size.
• Fold in thirds and place dough in a greased loaf pan.
• Cover with a towel and let rise again until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the loaf pan in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until top is browned.
• Remove from the oven, let cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring bread to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Lightly adapted from Food52 via Roy Finamore

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1SERVING | Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 154mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Cuisine American

Course Baked Goods

Keyword sweet potato bread, sweet potato bread with raisins, sweet potato raisin bread

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Gina Matsoukas

About

Gina Matsoukas is the writer, founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients as much as possible. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.